Dungun council staff charged with abusing position to award RM5m in contracts to family, friend
KUALA TERENGGANU, April 30 — A staff of the Dungun Municipal Council (MPD) was charged in the Sessions Court here today with four counts of using his position to award tenders for cleaning works to companies owned by family members and friends.
Mohammad Hanif Ahmad, 41, pleaded not guilty to all the charges before Judge Mohd Azhar Othman.
On all four charges, he was charged in his capacity as an assistant quantity surveyor at MPD, to have abused his position as a member of the Tender Secretariat (Supplies and Services) of the Finance Committee, by recommending three companies owned by his father, brother and an associate, respectively, to be awarded contracts worth nearly RM5 million for public cleaning and related works for two years.
He is charged with committing the offence at the MPD in Dungun between December 16, 2018, and March 9, 2021.
The charges are framed under Section 24(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which provides imprisonment for up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
The court allowed him bail of RM18,000 with one surety and also ordered not to disturb witnesses as well as surrender his passport.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Hanif's wife, Maimunah Syahbudin, 47, was charged in the same court with 10 counts of using false documents as genuine.
She pleaded guilty to all charges.
The woman was charged under Section 471 of the Penal Code with dishonestly using documents that she knew to be false as genuine, namely a company registration declaration certificate and account statements involving three different companies.
The offences were allegedly committed between December 17, 2020, and January 10, 2021, at the same place.
She faced imprisonment for up to two years or a fine, or both, if convicted.
Mohd Azhar allowed Maimunah bail of RM10,000 with one surety and set June 12 for mention.
She was also ordered not to disturb witnesses and to surrender her passport to the court.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Ezuain Farhana Ahmad, from the MACC, while the couple was represented by lawyer Ghazali Ismail. — Bernama
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